To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
I was so very busy writing this week that I scarcely stepped outdoors. I don’t enjoy being under a contracted manuscript deadline, but it does keep me focused. And, of course, it helps pays the bills.
I did get away one day to attend a birthday party for one of our grandkids. That was a two hour drive, which is considered “fairly close by” by local standards, here in The American Redoubt.
I also had to make a trip to town, to mail another pile of Priority Mail flat rate boxes. This was fulfilling orders that I had received in my HK Magazines and Parts Extravaganza, over at The FALFiles. All 540 magazines and all of the parts kits have sold out. There are now just a few HK91/93 parts and accessories left: Several A.R.M.S. Swan scope mounts, one Namibian contact handguard, one 1,200-meter rear sight, one complete “Sanitized” G3 full auto Bolt Carrier Assembly, and a few odds & ends. I have these all priced right, to sell quickly. Oh, and I’m covering the cost of postage.
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Hello Everyone,
This week has been incredibly busy and so will be this weekend. So a few quick words for you… We enjoyed seeing our grandchildren very much this past weekend. This week I was able to mow the orchard before the rains came. The grass had grown to two feet tall! Weeding the main garden beds was the big chore of the week. I made a trip to town for food stock up. I also needed to buy graduation party stuff for Eloise’s celebration. We are are celebrating along with a few other home schooled graduating friends. Our young lady has grown up, and a very fine young lady she turned out to be! Lots of emotions in that department.
I will give a more detailed report next week.
May you all have a very blessed and safe week.
– Jim and Avalanche Lily, Rawles
o o o
As always, please share your own successes and hard-earned wisdom in the Comments.
This week flew by! I have almost finished with the unsightly pile outside the door. All the decent sized wood is cut and stacked. I’m thinking of just moving the remaining “sticks” to the brush pile. Not sure which is less work – moving them or cutting them up. Once they are gone and the site is raked, a three year project will finally be completed.
Had my two final doctor check-ins this week while under fantastic insurance. Being rather fair and blue-eyed, I keep a firm watch for melanoma. I’ll keep wearing hats and covering up in the sun and taking high-noon siestas (or at least move indoors to work).
I built another small garden bed using local stone for the wall and composted soil from the town compost. I did have to extract some plastic from the soil, but otherwise it was very nice. This bed is by the cabin and is now filled with perennials. I’ve a perennial bed already growing that needs to be walled in. The stones have been gathered, now to just finish the job. Finally getting to these beds after putting in the fruits and veggies.
This weekend is the first available 2 days of sunshine that we’ve had, and I will finish painting the shed and paint the woodbox.
Final count of the winter kill around the place (it’s the freezing -thawing- freezing that kills so) is: 2 rosehips, 2 blueberry starts, and one grapevine.
Built and filled my spool holder in my barn workshop. Has several spools of different types of 550 cord, micro-cord, other types of cordage as well as several spools of copper wire. Still have room for additional spools. Screwed a piece of utility chain to the lid of a large wooden storage box and the put a hook in the wall. This allows me to secure the lid in the up position without it falling down. Put a bunch of extra materials and supplies into the box.
Put a plug on the end of Romex wire that we ran months ago for light/electric in the workshop, now I just plug it into the generator to power the workshop until I finish the electric. Worked on remodeling our mudroom at the BOL. With the help of some JB Weld I put up our mailbox that was knocked off by the snowplow.
Purchased a very nice used pair of older Jason binoculars and 30′ of 1 inch wide mil-Spec black webbing.
Of course we took several more loads of stuff out to the BOL for the move and just about emptied our attic in preparation for our move.
Cleaned the fire pit out at the BOL too.
Once we make the move to the BOL we will have some much more time to make improvements. Right now we are limited to weekends and days off, but once we move we will have the hours in the evening once we get home from work available. We will also gain about two hours of weekend time that we spend in travel and opening and closing everything up. Feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas!
“Over all hatch hoods and gun covers,” is sounded on board ship to prepare everyone for bad weather or heavy seas. Well, the same alarm was sounded on our little micro-farm this past week. The rain gauge “runneth over” at the 6″ mark and I didn’t dare make the run outside to reset it. Everything in the gardens faired pretty well except the jade and wax beans. Many plants were broken but hopefully enough left for a decent harvest. Overhaul of the entire garden area prior to planting paid off as there was minimal runoff. Didn’t loose any chicken, just issued them “wellies” and they were able to muck around when the rain lightened up a bit. This coming week, following drying out, will be dedicated to road and driveway repairs. Don’t plan on leaving home for the next days for the rest of the surrounding area to recover a bit.
That is a lot of rain all at once. We have had continual rain here in the east, but nothing to match yours. In the Redoubt, my dear husband says it is the rainiest spring since we moved there. I’ll be praying for you.
I built a 4 x 6 x 2 ft high chicken brooder this week. I had been making due with a large wire dog kennel I had previously covered in hardware cloth to keep the rats and mice away from the day old chicks. My brood of 21 chicks turned 4 wks old this week and needed more room. Too early to let them roam alone. I am happy to say they love their new quarters. I bought extra chicks when I ordered them. My dependable broody hen is getting older and I need to have a few spare broodies as a replacement for her.
I’m waiting for them to turn 8 weeks old then I will sell the extra chicks and hopefully recoup my expenses for raising them. The local feed store sells Golden Comet pullets and Hyline pullets for $15 to $20. I recently sold 7 wk old Cuckoo Marans and Salmon Faverolles female chicks for $20 each. It made me think how people don’t want the hassle of brooding day olds or getting stuck with a lot of cockerels if getting straight run day olds. So I am going to try to make a little chicken money to help cover some of my feed expenses.
I used the proceeds from my first sale to buy a 50 chick heating plate (I have a small one already), materials to build a bigger brooder, extra chick feeders and chick waterers. This small batch of chicks was ordered and arrived before I had my idea so I will just get an idea if this is going to fill a need or I end up with a lot more chickens then I need.
As part of my research I am drawing on my past experience with reducing my flock size. I have always been able to sell extra hens and chicks but haven’t really kept track of expenses or potential profits. I’m also checking out prices and breeds available at the feed store and on Craig’s List. It seems what is available is either very high layers like the sex-linked crosses, some dependable breeds like Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds or the rarer like Lavender Orpingtons (all the rage now and beautiful birds) or the very strange Ayam Cemani. I have decided to get breeds that I like just in case I get stuck with them. Also breeds that aren’t expensive. There is a threshold I believe on what someone will pay for a chicken. I’d also like to get useful homestead or survival breeds. Dual purpose, some broodiness, ability to forage well and predator savvy. Or at least a mix of these as no one breed can fulfill every requirement.
My current brood is made up of Light and Buff Brahmas, Speckled Sussex, Delaware, Buff and Lavender Orpingtons. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes and if not successful from a monetary aspect at least it’s something I enjoy.
I built a 4 x 6 x 2 ft high chicken brooder this week. I had been making due with a large wire dog kennel I had previously covered in hardware cloth to keep the rats and mice away from the day old chicks. My brood of 21 chicks turned 4 wks old this week and needed more room. And it is too early to let them roam alone. I am happy to say they love their new quarters. I bought extra chicks when I ordered them. My dependable broody hen is getting older and I need to have a few spare broodies as a replacement for her.
I’m waiting for them to turn 8 weeks old then I will sell the extra chicks and hopefully recoup my expenses for raising them. The local feed store sells Golden Comet pullets and Hyline pullets for $15 to $20. I recently sold 7 wk old Cuckoo Marans and Salmon Faverolles female chicks for $20 each. It made me think how people don’t want the hassle of brooding day olds or getting stuck with a lot of cockerels if getting straight run day olds. So I am going to try to make a little chicken money to help cover some of my feed expenses.
I used the proceeds from my first sale to buy a 50 chick heating plate (I have a small one already), materials to build a bigger brooder, extra chick feeders and chick waterers. This small batch of chicks was ordered and arrived before I had my idea so I will just get an trial to see if this is going to fill a need or I end up with a lot more chickens then I need.
As part of my research I am drawing on my past experience with reducing my flock size. I have always been able to sell extra hens and chicks but haven’t really kept track of expenses or potential profits. I’m also checking out prices and breeds available at the feed store and on Craig’s List. It seems what is available is either very high production layers like the sex-linked crosses, some dependable breeds like Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds or the rarer like Lavender Orpingtons (all the rage now and beautiful birds) or the very strange Ayam Cemani. I have decided to get breeds that I like just in case I get stuck with them. Also breeds that aren’t expensive. There is a threshold I believe on what someone will pay for a chicken. I’d also like to get useful homestead or survival breeds. Dual purpose, some broodiness, ability to forage well and predator savvy. Or at least a mix of these as no one breed can fulfill every requirement.
My current brood is made up of Light and Buff Brahmas, Speckled Sussex, Delaware, Buff and Lavender Orpingtons. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes and if it’s not successful from a monetary aspect at least it’s something I enjoy.
OK, another meager week for me. But my tribe will have lots of freeze dried coffee if the need arises. All in sealed glass bottles including smaller 4 oz. jars for possible barter.